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"Sir Michael Dummett, who has died aged 86, was one of the greatest British philosophers of the 20th century. He was also an international authority on tarot cards, a campaigner for racial justice and a devoted family man. His wife, Ann, was a co-worker in his fight against racism and collaborated with him on a number of publications on the subject."

The first tarot book I read was Dummett's "Il Mondo e l'Angelo". Recently, I have re-read a few chapters and I enjoy the book even more now (knowing something about tarot history) than I did when I first read it. I have been very lucky to meet tarot through the words of such an exceptional scholar. Sometimes I think that “tarot history” is an oxymoron: a foolish game like tarot is incompatible with serious historical science. Dummett's work demonstrates that this is not the case. If I cannot speak of tarot in a meaningful way, the problem is not in the subject (which, in spite of its name, is all but foolish).

Lately, we talked on the phone only. I called him on Dec. 24 to wish him happy holidays. He was present and responsive, but he said that he was in a "very bad shape". I have just lost a friend. A towering friend. We have lost a giant.